An Unexpected Journey
by Katariina Sofia
Summary: Crystal is unhappy with her living arrangement. She's still dealing with the divorce of her parents when a new friend offers her an escape into a fantasy world. When Crystal gets in trouble and her mother takes away her favorites book trouble ensues when she is transported into the Labyrinth. Can Crystal escape or will she capture the heart of the Goblin King?
1. Chapter 1

"I wish…I wish…" the brunette girl turned to look out her bedroom window. It had been snowing for three days straight and she'd been stuck in her house. She'd always like being outside. There was a freedom there that she didn't get when she was at home. She closed her book and laid it on her bed. She grabbed her coat and slipped out of her room unnoticed. She descended the stairs and went out the back door.

The wind whipped her hair about her face as she walked through the snow covered yard. She pulled her coat tighter against her to block out some of the cold. She opened the back gate and stepped out into an alley. She closed the gate behind her and started walking again. She knew this route like the back of her hand. She'd used it on many occasions growing up. As soon as an argument would start between her parents she would disappear for a while. They never noticed, of course. They were too absorbed in their fight to notice she was missing.

She turned her gaze towards the sky. Fluffy flakes of snow landed on her face and melted away just as quickly. Her chestnut hair had flakes of white in it as well. She ran across a small road quickly. She'd finally reached her destination: the park. She was the only one there. No one was out in this weather. She liked it that way. She walked over to the tiny bridge and climbed up on the railing and sat down, her feet dangling over the frozen water.

She watched her reflection for a few moments. She thought back to the day that her father had left. She'd come here to get away from it all. That's how she'd come across her book. She'd read it a million times, or at least twenty. It was her favorite of all her books. She smiled as she thought back on that day.

_ "What's wrong?" asked a girl with dark black hair._

_ "My parents are getting a divorce," she replied._

_ "Oh. I'm sorry," said the raven headed girl. "I know how you feel. My parents are divorced as well."_

_ "Really?"_

_ "Yeah. It's not the best thing in the world, but it's not the worst either," she said. "You just need to find something to take your mind off of what's going on sometimes. I got into drama."_

_ "I like to read, but I've read all of my books."_

_ The raven haired girl stood silent a moment. She smiled then pulled a red book out of her bag. She smiled as she said, "Here, read this. It's one of my favorite books."_

_ "I can't take it if it's your favorite."_

_ "Yes you can. I've read it enough to know it forwards and backwards. I think you would like it," she said. "My name is Sarah, by the way."_

_ "I'm Crystal," she replied._

_ "Just do one thing for me, Crystal," said Sarah._

_ "Hmm?" she said looking at the book in her hands._

_ "Don't read it aloud," said Sara with a grave look on her face. "This is a book that should be read to oneself."_

_ Crystal looked at her oddly but nodded her understanding. They said their goodbyes and parted ways._

Crystal sighed. She didn't think to grab the book when she left the house. But, like Sara, she'd read it enough to know the book backwards. She looked up at the clock tower and sighed again. It was getting colder by the minute and she was starting to lose feeling in her fingers. She climbed off the railing and headed back to her house.

* * *

Crystal hung her coat up as she entered the warm house. She could hear her mother walking around upstairs. She walked into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee. During the winter there was always a pot of coffee made. Someone was always drinking it. She grabbed her mug and walked towards the stairs.

"Where have you been?" asked a red headed woman walking down the stairs.

"Out," replied Crystal.

"Out? In this weather? Are you insane? You could've gotten sick or slipped and fallen and gotten hurt," said the woman blocking the staircase.

Crystal sighed. There was no way she was going to avoid this conversation.

"I'm fine. I've got all my fingers and toes. They all still have their proper function. I'm fine," she said wiggling the fingers on her empty hand at her mother.

Her mother rolled her eyes and continued down the stairs. Crystal did the same as she walked up the stairs. She walked down the hall and slipped into her room. She sat her mug on her desk as she toed her shoes off. She fell back onto her bed and closed her eyes. She sat up again and took a sip of her drink. As she sat it back down she noticed a few things were missing from her room. She got off the bed and noticed the book was missing as well.

"What the hell!" she said jerking her door open.

She quickly made her way down the stairs and into the living room where her mother was sitting with the book and a box of things.

"What are you doing?" asked Crystal.

"You will get it all back when you start listening to me," said her mother. "This little act of yours has gone on long enough. When I tell you to do something, or not to do something, I expect you to listen to me."

Crystal rolled her eyes.

"That's another thing," said her mother. "This smart aleck attitude you have towards me needs to go as well. You will get everything back when you start listening."

Her mother tossed the book into the box haphazardly and turned her attention back to the TV. Crystal mumbled a few obscenities under her breath as she left the room. This never would've happened if she'd gone to live with her dad. She'd thought about it a few times, but it was too late now. He'd already remarried and had another family. She would just disrupt everything by moving in with them now.

She slammed the door to her room and collapsed on her bed. There were some days where she'd taken Sarah up on her offer to move in with her. She could still do it. She was almost eighteen; she could pack up her things and be ready by the time her birthday rolled around. Then her mother couldn't say anything to her. Crystal shook her head. As much as she wanted to up and leave, she couldn't. Her mother would be devastated if she walked out on her, too.

* * *

Crystal had cooled off from the argument with her mother by the time she went down for dinner. Granted the tension was still there, but they could tolerate each other. She thought all the way through dinner about how she could at least get her book back. She'd though of a few different scenarios that could possibly work. She'd try them after dinner.

"I've got to work late tomorrow," said her mother.

"You're actually going to work tomorrow?" asked Crystal surprised since it was _still_ snowing.

"No," replied her mother rolling her eyes. "I'll be in the office here working."

Crystal nodded her head. It had really been about a month since her mom actually went into work. She had the luxury of being able to work from home.

They finally finished dinner. Her mother disappeared into the home office, closing the door behind her. Crystal smiled as she walked into the living room. This was going to be easier than she thought.

She found the box sitting beside her mom's chair. She knelt down next to it and started to dig through it. She couldn't find the book anywhere. She knew her mother had tossed in there. She'd watched her do it. So where was it?

"Looking for this?" said her mother walking into the living room with the book in hand. "I figured you would try to get it back so I kept it with me."

"Just give me the book. You can keep everything else," said Crystal.

"Which is why I'm going to hold onto it," said her mother walking away.

Crystal grunted as she stomped up the stairs. She was starting to get really irritated with her mother. She slammed her door closed and collapsed on her bed.

* * *

Crystal's mother was sitting in her office looking at the book. She opened it and started to read it. She was half way through the third chapter when she put the book down. She'd never admit it to Crystal, but it was a good book. She sighed at she turned off the desk lamp and headed to her room

As she was climbing into bed she thought back to the book. It was definitely a book for a teenage girl. No adult would wish away a child that she was sure of. She smiled as she turned off her light.

"No sane person would say _I wish the goblins would come take you away, right now_," she said chuckling as she fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Crystal woke up when she heard giggling. She was half asleep and thought it was left over from a dream she'd been having. She ignored it and lay back down.

Another round of giggling erupted. Crystal sat all the way up in her bed and looked around. It was dark in her room so she couldn't see much as she scanned the room. The giggling started again. She was fully awake now and the giggling sounded more like cackling. She reached for her light and switched it on. The lamp clicked but didn't turn on. She did it a few times but nothing happened. The cackling stopped suddenly. She looked around the room again. Her heart rate had picked up a bit. As had her breathing.

The room started to spin. She grabbed her head trying to make it stop. The room started spinning faster and faster. She braced herself by grabbing the covers on her bed. The room picked up speed again and then stopped suddenly. Crystal fell back on the bed as if she'd been put under a sleeping spell.

* * *

Crystal grabbed her head as she opened her eyes. She had an awful head ache. She rubbed her eyes against the bright light. She must've forgotten to turn off her lamp. She reached for the lamp but couldn't find it. She kept reaching until she fell. She groaned as she opened her eyes again. She wasn't in her room anymore. She looked around at the small dusty room. This was definitely not her room, and she was definitely not in her house.

She stood up from the floor and hit her head on the ceiling. She groaned as she grabbed her head. She had to be dreaming. A very realistic dream. She could hear someone or something moving around on the other side of the door. She slowly walked over to it and looked at it. There was no way she'd fit through it to get in here. This _had_ to be a dream.

"I'll just go back to sleep and then wake up at home," she said lying back down.

It was then that she realized that the bed was big enough for her to fit on comfortably.

"Definitely a dream," she said closing her eyes.

She was almost asleep when she heard a door open. She could smell food, as well. She smiled. She was back in her own room at home.

"Come on, get up and eat," said a hoarse voice.

That was not her mother's voice.

"Come on. We don't got all day," said the voice again.

"Let the lady sleep. She's had a long night," said another voice.

"Bah," said the first voice.

She had to wake up soon, right? She closed her eyes tighter, willing herself to fall asleep again. Slowly sleep was taking over her body. She'd be asleep again soon if she was left alone. She was on the cusp of unconsciousness when someone poked her with a stick.

"OW!" she said sitting straight up in the bed. "What did you do that for?"

"You've got to eat," said the voice.

Crystal looked at the body that belonged to the voice. It was a haggard face man. No, not a man. A goblin. Standing next to him was a fox with an eye patch. She closed her eyes and shook her head. This was a weird dream.

"Might as well eat," said the goblin. "You're gonna be here a while."

"I'm asleep. I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming. I can be here. This isn't real," said Crystal.

"Well, why you're over there doubting all of this I've got to go find out what's going on," said the goblin.

"What _is_ going on!" shouted Crystal.

"Shut up!" chastised the goblin. "We don't want no one to know yer here!"

"Why? _Where_ am I? Asked Crystal just as loudly.

"If you don't shut up _he_ is going to find you. And if _he_ finds you then _we_ can't get you out of here," said the goblin.

Crystal took a deep breath as she tried to place everything. Someone was looking for her and they didn't want him to find her so she could go home. This was all starting to sound like her book. But that can't be true, because it _was_ just a book. Right? She shook her head and opened her eyes again.

"I'm going to say something, and it's probably going to sound really weird," she said. "But just nod if I'm right. Okay?"

Both creatures nodded.

She took a deep breath before she spoke again. "You," she said pointing to the goblin "are Hoggle. And you," she said turning to the fox "are Sir Didymus. And I'm in a house in the Goblin City at the center of the Labyrinth?"

The creatures looked at each other then back to her with astonishment.

"Yes, milady," said Sir Didymus. "But how did you know that?"

"Oh boy," said Crystal. "Wait till Sarah hears about this."

"Sarah?" said Hoggle. "You know Sarah?"

"Yeah. She gave me the book about this place," said Crystal. "How do you know her?"

"She was the first person to run the Labyrinth and win," said Hoggle. "She's a friend of ours."

"Wait, what?" said Crystal shaking her head. "She's been here before?"

"Yes. She wished away her little brother," said Hoggle.

A clock chimed in the distance alerting Hoggle to the time. He jumped and headed towards the bedroom door.

"Eat and when I get back we are getting you out of here," he said disappearing out the door.

Crystal looked at the bowl sitting on the tray next to her. She grimaced.

"It's not as bad as it looks," said Sir Didymus.

* * *

Jareth was sitting in his throne room. He was surrounded by a bunch of idiotic goblins. All morning he'd felt odd. Something was going on in the labyrinth. Something new was here. But that wasn't possible. He wasn't summoned to take a child so no one could be in the labyrinth. He watched the motley crew that surrounded him. They were happy about something, which was odd.

"You!" he said pointing at one of the goblins. "Why is everyone so happy?"

"Y-you don't know sire?" said the goblin shakily.

"If I did I wouldn't be asking you, now would I?" he said with a seer.

The goblin's smile faded from his face completely. The rest of the goblins had quieted down and were watching the exchange.

"Um…the…the girl…" said the goblin.

"_What_ girl?" asked Jareth.

"The one that-that was w-wished away," said the goblin visibly shaking.

Jareth sat there for a moment. Maybe he'd misunderstood the creature in front of him. He thought for a moment. Nope, he'd definitely said that a girl had been wished away.

"Where is this girl? If she was wished away she would be here with us," said Jareth.

The goblin looked like he was about to fall to pieces if he didn't stop shaking. "Th-there was a slight complication…"

"A complication? Really?" said Jareth.

"Y-yes. S-she's…she's t-too old," said the goblin.

This captured Jareth's attention. "Too old?"

"Y-yes," said the goblin. "She's not little."

Jareth rolled his eyes. He'd had enough of this. He summoned a crystal and glanced into it. Flashes of the Labyrinth rolled through the crystal. It stopped on a particular part of the city. Jareth frowned, it was Hoggle. What was Hoggle doing? He would definitely investigate this.

* * *

Hoggle carefully made his way through the city. If he made it to the gates he would be able to get help to smuggle the girl out of the Labyrinth unnoticed. He rounded a corner and came face to face with Jareth.

"J-jareth!" said Hoggle shaking slightly.

"What are you doing Hogwart?" asked Jareth leaning against the side of a house.

"N-nothing, your Highness," said Hoggle. "J-just walking through town."

"Towards the gates," said Jareth nodding in the direction that Hoggle had been walking. "Now, I've got to wonder what is out in the Labyrinth that you need. Hmm? What's out there?"

"N-nothing. I-I wasn't headed to the gates," said Hoggle.

Jareth was getting bored with this back and forth. He leaned over and grabbed the front of Hoggle's shirt and held him up to eye level.

"I've been told that there is a girl in the city. An older girl," said Jareth. "Where is she?"

"I-I don't know," said Hoggle.

"I will toss you into the bog if you do not tell me now, Higgle," said Jareth. "Where is the girl!"

"I-I..." Hoggle said stammering.

"Enjoy the bog," said Jareth.

"Wait!" shouted Hoggle.

He was going to regret doing this. The girl was a friend if Sarah's, but he didn't know her. He didn't owe her nothing.

"She's at my house," said Hoggle.

"See, that wasn't so hard," said Jareth dropping the goblin back on the ground.

Jareth disappeared just as quickly as he had appeared. Hoggle shook his head and took off running. He wasn't going to be around when Jareth found her.

* * *

Jareth found the house with quite ease. He studied the outside of the house. It was just as horribly built as the rest of them. He knocked on the door and waited. When no one answered he walked into the house. Just like all the rest of them, they were cramped for someone of his size. He groaned as he made his way through the small house. He found Hoggle's room first. There was one other door. He walked over and opened the door and stepped inside.

While the ceiling was still low, the room was a lot larger than the outside gave it credit for. This was definitely the work of magic. He turned and saw a girl lying on the large bed. _This _was the girl. He studied her for a moment. She was of average height for a human girl. Jareth put her at about 5'7" judging from the way she was asleep on the bed. Her hair was a chestnut brown, but looked darker in the dim lighting. He stepped closer to her. When he did the floor squeaked, alerting the girl to his presence.

* * *

Crystal heard the floor squeak. The few times that Hoggle and Sir Didymus had walked across the floor it didn't squeak. There was someone or something much bigger than her in the room too. She gripped the stick that she had in her hands. Sir Didymus had given it to her in case she needed it while he was out of the house. She took a slow, deep breath and counted to three. When she reached three she jumped out of the bed flailing the stick all over the place. She knew she'd made contact a few times from the grunts she heard from the other thing. When she was close enough to the door she grabbed the handle. She had the door slightly ajar when she felt light headed and collapsed on the floor.

* * *

Jareth was taken by surprise when the girl he thought to be sleeping jumped up from the bed. She had a stick in her hand, probably given to her by Hoggle or one of the other do-gooders that associated with him. She was flailing it around like a mad woman, not paying attention to where she was swinging it. She knocked a few things off the shelves around her before her weapon collided with his skull. He let out a grunt and started to doge some of her other blows. She caught him across the chest a few times with the stick as well.

He knew what she was doing when she started to circle towards the door. She landed another blow before she reached for the handle. She turned enough to try to run through the door. Jareth took this opportunity. He reached out and touched her lightly. He saw her body go limp. He caught her unconscious figure before she hit the floor.

Her will to fight reminded him of Sarah. _Sarah_. That was a name he hadn't thought about in a while. He shook his head trying to shake the image of the girl from his mind. When he had the mysterious girl in his arms he left the ramshackle house and headed back to his castle. When the girl awoke he would question her.


	3. Chapter 3

Crystal rolled over on the bed. This bed was softer than the one she'd fallen asleep on. Maybe she was still dreaming. She snuggled into the pillow more. This pillow smelled of lavender, not the must down of the pillow she'd fallen asleep on. Without a moment's hesitation she sat straight up in the bed. She regretted the action as she grabbed her head. She felt a little woozy.

She rubbed her eyes and surveyed the room she was in. This was definitely not Hoggle's house. She furrowed her brow as she tried to remember how she got to this room. She remembered laying down at Hoggle's and Sir Didymus had given her a club of sorts to protect herself while he left. She remembered sliding it under the pillow to hide it as she lay down. It was then that it dawned on her what had happened next. Someone had come into the house. Someone big enough to make the floors squeak. She remembered swing the club at them, but not how she got to the room.

She was drawn away from her memories when there was a knock at the door. The door swung open a second later. In walked a squat woman. _No, not a woman_, thought Crystal. _She's a goblin. At least, I think it's a she._

The gobbling woman had a tray with her. She set the tray on a small table by the large window. The table was framed with two ornate chairs. She then turned her attention to the fireplace. She added another log to the fire and poked at the embers in the bottom. When she was satisfied she returned the poker to its holder and turned to face Crystal. Crystal felt a little unnerved under the woman's gaze.

After a few moments the woman walked over to a wardrobe and opened the doors. Crystal had to stop herself form laughing. The woman was so small compared to the large wardrobe. Ignoring Crystals giggles the goblin woman pulled a stool over to the wardrobe and stood on it. She shuffled through a few things before she grabbed something and pulled it out. It was a dress. She carried the dress over to the bed and laid it out. She then returned to the wardrobe and pulled out a pair of matching slippers. When she was finished she closed the wardrobe and walked back over to the bed and watched Crystal again. When Crystal didn't move the goblin woman spoke.

"Well, are you gonna get up or do I have to dress you in bed?" she said a little agitated.

"Dr-dress me?" said Crystal finally regaining her voice. "Dress me for what?"

"The master wishes you to dine with him tonight," said the goblin. "And yer clothes are unacceptable. Now get out of that bed!"

Crystal jumped at the woman's outburst. She slowly slid from the large four-poster bed. It was then that she realized that her shoes had been taken off her feet when she was placed in the bed. She didn't' have a moment to adjust when two more goblins walked into the room. One of them walked over to a vanity that Crystal had missed in her first look about the room. The other joined the first goblin near Crystal. They spoke quietly for a moment before they started pulling on Crystal's existing clothes.

"Hold on!" said Crystal stepping back from them. "I can dress myself."

The women exchanged looks before going about their original plans. Crystal tried to fight them. In the end she gave up. They weren't going to let her do it by herself. That part was evident.

* * *

Jareth sat in his private office. He was staring out the large window behind his desk. He had a glass in one hand and a crystal in the other. He was looking at the crystal instead of the view in front of him.

In the crystal a face glimmered. There was a smile surrounded by raven hair. It was Sarah. She'd forgotten all about him and the labyrinth. She'd moved on with her life. She was married now. He heard her giggle come from the crystal faintly. He cursed himself for even pulling it up. The crystal disappeared from view. He glanced at the glass in his hand. He down the rest of the liquid that was inside it before he set it on his desk.

He shuffled through some of the papers on his desk before he muttered something about doing it later and collapsing in the chair. He'd had his eyes closed for a moment when there was a knock at the door. He let out a string of curses before he bade them entrance.

"What?!" said jareth.

"D-dinner is served, my lord," said a small goblin,

Jareth nodded and the goblin left the room. A small smile came to his face as the door closed. He would be dinning with the mystery girl tonight. He stood and grabbed his coat and walked from the room. Dinner was going to be interesting for a change.

* * *

Once Crystal was in the light blue gown the third goblin ran a brush through her tangled hair. Crystal cringed every time the goblin found a knot of hair. She would jerk the brush through it until it ran smoothly through her hair. Her hair was then pulled back into a loose braid. Just as the goblin finished with her hair there was a knock at the door.

"Yes?" said the first goblin.

"Dinner is served. The master is waiting," he said before quickly leaving the room.

All three goblin women quickly finished up what they were doing. Crystal was pulled from the stool in front of the mirror and was hurried out the chamber door. She was having difficulty walking at such a fast pace and trying not to step on the dress.

After a few minutes they stopped in front of two large oak doors. One of the women knocked lightly on the door before all three of them disappeared. Crystal looked around her to see where they could've gone to so fast, but couldn't find any entryways that were close.

Her attention was drawn back to the door when it slowly started to open. On the other side of the doors was a large room. In the center of the room was a large dining table. The table could easily fit twenty people comfortably, more if they were elbow to elbow. Her gaze followed the table until it came to the far end. At that end of the table sat a blond man. From where she was standing he looked bored.

"Come in," said the man. "I don't bite," he said with a chuckle.

Crystal found it hard to laugh at his joke, but she slowly entered the room. As she neared the far end of the table a goblin appeared out of nowhere and pulled her chair out for her. As soon as she was seated he'd disappeared again. She avoided the gazed of her "host" and looked around the room. The ceiling was decorated with three chandeliers. There were candelabras on the table and taller ones placed around the room. Unfortunately her gaze finally fell on the man at the table with her.

"Do you like it?" he asked, motioning to the room. "I'm rarely ever in here. I forget how nice it looks sometimes."

"Is this your idea of small talk?" asked Crystal.

"Why so hostile?" asked Jareth. "I've don't nothing to you."

"Except kidnap me," replied Crystal.

"You have quite the attitude," said Jareth. "And quite the arm as well."

"What are you talking about?" asked Crystal.

"I do believe I have a few bruises from that stick of yours you used on me earlier today," said Jareth.

Crystal was quiet for a moment. "Well, that's what you get for walking into someone's house unannounced."

Jareth just smiled at her.

A goblin walked over with a covered platter and set it on the table. He lifted the lid and set it off to the side before he started to serve the meal. Crystal eyed her plate cautiously when it was placed in front of her.

"It's not poisoned," said Jareth placing his napkin on his lap. "I'm eating from the same dish as you. I don't go about trying to poison myself.

Crystal didn't say anything. Jareth lifted his fork and began to eat. After a few bites Crystal, too, began to eat. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until she had been given more food to eat. Jareth smiled as he watched her eat. She'd been in the labyrinth for less than a day and she was already starving. She would've have lasted long on her own.

* * *

Sir Didymus returned back to the house. Hoggle was sitting at the table eating a bowl of porridge.

"Is milady still asleep?" he asked.

"No," said Hoggle.

"Then why isn't she eating?" asked Didymus.

"I'm sure she is," said Hoggle. "With Jareth."

"Jareth?! Why is she with Jareth?!" asked Sir Didymus in a panic.

"He found out about her and took her," said Hoggle. "I led him right to her," he said shaking his head in sorrow.

Didymus shook his head as he sat down at the table as well. He wasn't going to bring up Sarah. Sarah leaving was hard enough on all of them, but especially Hoggle. She was his first friend.

* * *

After the dinner dishes had been taken away it was just Jareth and Crystal at the table. Crystal had found her hands interesting at that point. Jareth, of course, was staring at her. He was the first to speak.

"May I ask you a few questions?" he asked.

"I can't stop you from asking them," she said looking at him through her lashes.

Jareth smirked at her response and nodded his head. "Very well then. First, how did you end up here?"

Crystal rolled her eyes. "You were the one who brought me here. I was fine at Hoggle's house."

Jareth chuckled. "Not in my castle. In the Labyrinth. It's more of an invitation only sort of place."

Crystal was quite. She hadn't really thought about it. She hadn't really had the time to think about it, what with waking up at Hoggle's and freaking out and then Jareth showing up at the house, and now she was at his castle. There hadn't really been a moment where she could think about how she'd ended up there.

"I, uh, well, I don't know," said Crystal. "The last thing I remember before waking up here is going to sleep in my room at my house. So your guess is as good as mine."

Jareth nodded his head. Aboveground people didn't just appear in the Underground, it just didn't happen that way. He would have to look into it after she'd retired for the night.

"How did you come by Hogwart?" asked Jareth.

"Hoggle," said Crystal correcting him.

"Whatever," said Jareth waving it off.

"I assume he found me. I woke up in the house," she said. "And shouldn't you know this anyway?"

"Why do you say that?" asked Jareth leaning forward on the table.

Crystal had done the one thing she didn't want to do, she had grabbed his full attention. _Shit,_ she thought.

"What do you know of this place?" he asked, intrigued about how she would answer.

"I-I, uh, I don't," she said stammering.

He knew she was lying. It was written all over her face. Well, what he could see of her face. She'd done very well at avoiding his gaze the whole night, but he was going to fix that if it was the last thing he did. He wouldn't admit it to anyone but himself, but he was intrigued by this girl.

"Come now, we both know that's not true," said Jareth standing up. He walked around to where she was sitting at the table. He chose the seat right next to her and sat down again. Crystal turned her attention to something else in the room. "You know more than you're telling. So tell me, what do you know of the Underground?"

Crystal knew he was right. She'd read Labyrinth enough to recited it backwards. "I know you're the Goblin King, Jareth."

Jareth nodded but didn't speak.

"I knew who Hoggle and Sir Didymus were," she said. "But that's about it."

"And how did you come across this information?" he asked.

Crystal thought about it for a moment. She was trying to decide if she wanted to tell him the truth. But even if she did, Sarah had never been there before. If she had, she would've told Crystal about it. Right?"

"Well?" asked Jareth becoming slightly impatient.

"A friend gave me a book," she said.

"And who was this friend? A boy?" asked Jareth.

"No, a girl," said Crystal. "And that's all you need to know. Now it's my turn to ask questions."

"Ah, but I still have one more that needs an answer," said Jareth.

"Fine," said Crystal.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"Crystal," she replied.

"Crystal. Such a lovely name," he said.

A clock started to chime in the distance. Jareth stood up from the table and grabbed his goblet.

"I hate to leave you with unanswered questions, but it it's time for you to retire for the night," he said.

"No! Not until I get my answers!" she said standing up from the table. "I answered yours, now you can answer mine!"

Jareth smiled as he touched her hand. Crystal's eyes slid closed as she dropped back into the chair. Jareth walked over to her and kissed her forehead.

"All in due time," he said. "Bale!"

"Yes, my lord?" said a goblin appearing by his side.

"See to it that she is returned to her room. She is not to be disturbed until breakfast in the morning," said Jareth turning to leave. "I am also not to be disturbed unless it is absolutely necessary."

"Yes, my lord," said the goblin.

Jareth ignored the response and walked out of the room.

* * *

**A/N: Here is chapter 3. Hope you like it. Please review and let me know what you think! I'm going to start working on chapter 4 this week, so be on the look out for it soon! ~Kat**


	4. Chapter 4

Crystal sat on the giant bed. She was still in her dress from dinner. She didn't know what time it was, there wasn't a clock in the room, but she knew it was getting late for the sky had started to darken. She could hear movement outside her room, but didn't know if it was a guard or everyone going about their normal routine. She sighed as she stood up from the bed.

"Hopefully my clothes are still in here," she said pulling the dress over her head. "Cause I sure as hell aint staying here."

She looked around the room and found her clothes in the chest at the foot of the bed. She pulled them out and put them back on. Once she had her shoes on her feet she quietly walked over to the door. She listened for a moment, all the noise in the hallway outside had quieted down. She cracked the door open and looked to see if anyone was there.

"Coast is clear," she said pulling the door open so she could slip through, closing the door behind her. "Now which way do I go?"

Wasting no time she took off down the hall to the left. She'd gone right when she was taken to dinner and that was up one floor. By going to the left, hopefully, it would take her where she wanted to go: out of the castle.

* * *

Jareth was sitting at his desk. He'd practically locked himself in there since dinner. While he was trying to focus on the papers in front of him images of Sarah kept floating into his head. He shook his head once to clear the images and refocused on the documents in his hands. He no sooner started to read the paper when there was a knock on the door.

"WHAT?!" he shouted.

A stout goblin walked through the door, he look terrified of Jareth.

"I thought I said I didn't want to be disturbed," said Jareth.

"It's important, m-my lord," said the goblin.

"I will decide that," said Jareth with a glare on his face.

"The girl," said the goblin. "She's, well, she's not in her room anymore."

"And?" said Jareth.

"We put a ward on the door to keep track of her," he said. "And, well, she's headed towards the front of the castle."

Jareth didn't say anything. While he really didn't want her running around his castle, this wasn't really something he would consider extremely important. So what if she escaped the castle. So what is she went wandering around the city. The only problem he could see is if she managed to get out into the labyrinth.

"Unless she makes for the labyrinth, let her be," said Jareth. "Now leave _me_ be."

The goblin nodded and hurried from the room.

* * *

"Where the hell am I?" said Crystal as she walked through the halls.

Everything seemed to look the same to her. She came to a three way intersection in the hallway. She looked down the two new hallways before she turned right.

_Forget about running the Labyrinth, this is a pain in the ass by itself,_ she thought.

She continued through the castle until she found the throne room.

"Great. I'm probably somewhere near the middle of the castle now," she thought as she plopped down in the chair.

"Actually you're quite close to the front," said a voice.

"Who's there?" asked Crystal jumping up from the chair.

"No one special," said a small goblin walking into the room.

"How close am I?" asked Crystal.

"Not far, actually," she said. "Take that door there and it will lead you straight to the front doors."

"Really?! Thanks!" said Crystal.

"But let me warn you," said the tiny goblin. "While the Goblin City isn't a piece of cake, it's a lot better than being in the labyrinth."

"I'd rather be in the city than in here," said Crystal.

"It's not so bad," said the girl. "You're lucky the master brought you here to begin with."

"Oh really?" said Crystal.

"Yes. No one comes to the castle anymore unless there is a problem. Not since _she's_ been here," said the goblin.

"Since who's been here?" asked Crystal intrigued.

"Oh, uh, no one, miss," said the girl frantically. "I'm just mumbling. Nothing and no one. I must be off."

The goblin disappeared without another word. Crystal was definitely intrigued by what was said. Someone had been here and had made everything topsy-turvy. She looked towards the door the girl had pointed to. She made a mad dash for the door and ran down the hallway. Once she reached the large front doors she pushed one open. She was going to find out what had happened and she hoped she could find Hoggle and Sir Didymus in the process.

* * *

Hoggle was walking through the city. He still felt bad about leading Jareth to Crystal. Even after everything that had happened when Sara had been there he was still terrified of Jareth. He stopped suddenly when he heard movement. It was late at night and no one was out so it was odd for there to be noise. He slid into the shadows for two reasons. One was to see what was making the noise before it saw him, and two was because if it was something big, or Jareth, he wanted to be able to slip away quickly and quietly.

* * *

Crystal was walking through the city. It had gotten dark while she'd been running through the castle. As she walked she kicked a rock, sending it flying into a wheel on a cart sitting close by. She stopped and listened to see if she'd woken anyone, but after a few minutes of nothing but silence she continued walking.

She'd only made it a few more feet when she heard a noise from behind her. _Maybe I counted my eggs too soon_, she thought as she turned around. Standing behind her was Hoggle.

"Oh you scared me!" she said with relief.

"Then that makes two of us," he said. "What are you doing out here after dark? It's dangerous."

"You're out here too," said Crystal crossing her arms.

"I…well…um…" stammered Hoggle.

"Exactly," said Crystal. "But now that I've found you we can go back to your place."

"Right," said Hoggle. "This way."

Crystal nodded and followed him through the ever darkening streets. They soon reached his house. She never would've found it on her own. They all looked the same to her. He slipped a key into the door and walked in. She bent over slightly and followed him inside. Sitting at the table was Sir Didymus.

"Milady!" he shouted when he saw her walk through the door. "We've been quite worried about you."

"I'm fine. Just had to suffer through a dinner with his royal pain in the ass," she said hugging the fox.

"Right. But now that you are back we can work on getting you home again," said Didymus.

"Right!" she said with a smile. "But before we do that, I've got a question to ask."

"What is it, my lady?" asked Didymus.

"I was trying to find my way out of the castle when I started talking to a goblin in the throne room. She said that no one is allowed into the castle anymore since some girl had been here," said Crystal.

Didymus and Hoggle exchanged worried looks.

"When I asked her about the girl she gave the same look. But I figured you two would know," said Crystal.

"We'll talk about it in the morning," said Hoggle nudging the backs of her legs. "Get some sleep now."

Crystal sighed but walked through the tiny door to the large room. Her makeshift weapon was still lying on the floor where she'd dropped it. She picked it up and laid it on the bedside table as she climbed in the bed. She was going to find out the answer in the morning if it was the last thing she did.

* * *

Jareth sat looking into the crystal ball. He'd watched her progress through the castle. Unfortunately she'd almost found out about Sarah. He'd deal with the girl in the morning. As long as she stayed within the city walls she was safe. He watched her as she slept. He felt odd as he watched her. He hadn't felt like this since Sarah. He shook his head and dropped the crystal. He would not go down that road again. Ever!


End file.
